"The right to form trade unions is provided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international documents adopted under the regulatory systems of the United Nations, the European Social Charter and ILO Conventions No. 87 and 98. The constitution of the Republic of Macedonia has implemented this right in the legal system of the Republic, regulating it in detail by the Law on Labour Relations and other laws, as well as by a number of collective agreements. Normative regulations concerning organising in the Republic are comprehensive and made according to international and European standards but, in practice, they are inconsistently applied. This has resulted in a denial of the right of workers to form trade unions and join them, the obstruction of trade union representatives, and a poor functioning of the system of trade union protection, etc. Concerning the relationship between trade unions and the government, the general impression is that trade unions are very close to the government and are under-active in protecting workers' rights. "

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